


Me, My Best Friend, and Her Cat

by Missnoodles



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Is So Done, Alya Césaire Knows, Alya Césaire Ships It, F/M, Fluff, Flustered Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Friendship, Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Humor, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, Matchmaker Alya Césaire, Mouse Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Multimouse, Multi, POV Alya Césaire, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Protective Alya Césaire, Protective Nino Lahiffe, Smitten Adrien Agreste
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26051047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/pseuds/Missnoodles
Summary: Ladybugs aren't known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back.(And giving Ladybug's love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya's defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 120
Kudos: 491
Collections: August 2020 - Exchange





	1. Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [liminalshadow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liminalshadow/gifts).



> This is for liminalshadow, who requested a story where Alya has known Ladybug's identity since season 1 and has been helping keep the secret!

Alya nodded absently as she listened to Lila drone on about her latest visit to the kingdom of Achu. Alya’s cheeks hurt from maintaining the smile plastered across her face, but she did her best to ignore the twinge of pain, the same way she ignored Lila’s clear ignorance about the actual geography of Achu.

_ This is for Ladybug,  _ Alya reminded herself.  _ She needs you, even if she doesn’t know it. _

It had been almost a year since Alya’s second interview with Ladybug. The first interview, an impromptu encounter, had been deleted by Marinette, only for Marinette to conveniently be able to contact Ladybug and set up an exclusive interview.

_ Too _ conveniently.

Once Alya’s suspicions were raised, it was easy to follow the rest of the breadcrumbs home.

By the time Marinette showed up late for school just after Ladybug had defeated the Magician of Misfortune, claiming she had been taking her dog to the vet, Alya was about 75% sure that Marinette was Ladybug. And 100% sure that if that was true, Marinette needed her help. Marinette was a  _ terrible _ liar. 

By the time Ladybug locked Alya in a cage with Nino right after Nino had confessed to Marinette that he had a thing for Alya, Alya was certain: her best friend was Ladybug.

Alya couldn’t believe Marinette had managed to cover up a secret identity for this long. If things went on as they were, she’d give her identity away in no time.

There was only one thing for it: Alya would have to cover Marinette’s tracks.

At first, Alya had tried to hint that she knew — implying that she knew Marinette’s excuses were fake and joking about Marinette’s double life. But Marinette’s response was typically the nervous panic she usually reserved for talking to Adrien, so Alya figured it was perhaps best to keep her discovery to herself.

Which was fine: Alya was happy to work behind the scenes to support her best friend and hero. Sure, part of her wished she could be the one donning spandex and chasing after supervillains, but every hero needed a civilian sidekick who had their back through thick and thin.

Alya was determined to be that person for Marinette.

No matter how sore her cheeks were from smiling through Lila’s monologue.

* * *

At first, it’d been simple: Marinette made a bad excuse for being late; Alya didn’t question it. Marinette was missing during an akuma attack; Alya gave her an alibi. Marinette found a bad place to transform; Alya created a diversion. Simple, straightforward, honest subterfuge.

When Lila showed up, things started to get more complicated. Alya had been excited at first to hear about the new student — Lila apparently had been everywhere and knew everyone, and Alya had been desperate to get an interview.

And then Lila claimed to be friends with Ladybug and the illusion shattered. 

She’d had to post the interview anyway, of course. Lila had clearly expected her to, and since Alya wasn’t supposed to know who Ladybug’s best friend was, Alya had no reason not to publish. She hadn’t thought it would bother Marinette; after all, having someone she’s never met before claim to be Ladybug’s best friend surely would only help Marinette hide her secret identity.

Maybe that would have been the case, too, if Lila hadn’t set her sights on Adrien Agreste. Frankly, Alya had never understood why Marinette had felt threatened by Lila — Lila might have known loads of famous people, but Marinette was  _ Ladybug _ . 

Of course, Adrien didn’t know that, and neither Marinette nor Alya could tell him, but Alya was constantly surprised by how little confidence her girl had when it came to Adrien. Marinette fought supervillains on a regular basis and had a cute cat boy fawning all over her, but somehow couldn’t face her crush.

Alya did her best to help with that too, although she privately feared it was a lost cause. She’d never tell Marinette that, of course. Personally, she thought Chat Noir was a better choice, but it wasn’t Alya’s decision to make.

So when Lila lied; Alya smiled. When Marinette tried to confess to Adrien; Alya played wingman. And when Alya captured a cute Ladynoir moment for her blog... well, she still gushed. Alya was a shipper at heart, after all, and only human.

* * *

The complications didn’t end with Lila, however. The second time everything changed was when Alya’s younger sisters were akumatized. Alya had always wanted to be a hero, but she’d never expected to  _ actually become one _ .

Even knowing that Ladybug was really just her best friend in a skintight suit and mask hadn’t stopped the feeling of breathless awe when Ladybug offered Alya the Fox Miraculous. Ladybug was Marinette at her most fierce; she was the Marinette that never backed down from a challenge or let her words get in the way. Ladybug was larger than life, and at that moment, Alya had almost forgotten that the girl behind the mask was the same one who had called her three times a week in a panic and needed to be talked down.

But Ladybug was the same girl, and she needed Alya’s help. And while Alya was always happy to help her friend, she’d never been more excited to do so than when she’d leapt across the rooftops with the heroes of Paris.

Alya loved being Rena Rouge. She wished she could be a hero full time, but Marinette trusted her to return the Miraculous. Alya had done it with reluctance, but also with the knowledge that Marinette would choose her again  — and she was right. Not as often as Alya would’ve preferred, of course, but often enough that Alya felt like the Fox Miraculous was  _ hers _ .

* * *

The third time everything changed was when the bees came. She’d just sat down at the dinner table with Nino and her family when she heard the encroaching sound of ominous buzzing  — and then, nothing. It was hours later, and she was back in the dining room, surrounded by the warm embrace of her boyfriend and her family, blissfully unaware of the way that  Chloé Bourgeois had turned Alya’s world on its head yet again.

No one knew, at first. Everyone in Paris had been affected, and no reporters were left to cover the events of that day.

It wasn’t until days later, when a somber Ladybug came to tell her that she’d never be Rena Rouge again that Alya realized how significant that day had been.


	2. My Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya is determined to help her best friend.

It shouldn’t have hurt that much. Just because the Fox Miraculous felt like hers didn’t mean it  _ was _ . Alya knew it had always been on loan.

That didn’t stop the onslaught of crushing disappointment she felt as Ladybug’s somber figure recounted the news.

“Not just you, of course,” Ladybug continued, her professional tone undercut by the exhaustion etched into her features. “All of the heroes were revealed during the battle against Miracle Queen. I can’t recruit any of you again.”

Alya didn’t have a very good explanation for what she did next.

“I know you’re Marinette!” she blurted, ruining not only months of secret-keeping but also any chance of Marinette maintaining a stable mental state through a clearly stressful event in only four words.

Ladybug, predictably, paled.

“Ho — I-I’m not Marinette!  _ You’re _ Marinette!” Ladybug babbled, accusingly pointing a finger at Alya.

Alya crossed her arms over her chest and lifted an eyebrow.

“I don’t know any Marinette! Never heard of her!” Ladybug let out a shrill, frantic laugh and continued, “You can’t prove anything!”

“I’ve known for months, Marinette,” Alya said, trying to keep her voice as low and even as possible, the way one would if they were approaching an easily-startled horse from the rear.

“Nooo, no, no,” Ladybug chanted as she slid down into a messy heap on the floor, her legs splayed outward in a way that made Alya’s hips twinge with discomfort. “This is a disaster! If you know, then Nino will know, and Adrien will know, and they’ll think I can’t take care of Paris and they’ll hate me! And then Chat will find out and then Hawkmoth will know and the world will  _ literally _ end and—”

“Whoa, whoa,” Alya said placatingly, coming down to a kneel in front of Ladybug and wrapping a comforting hand around her shoulder. “None of that is going to happen.”

“You can’t know that.” Ladybug moaned, burying her face in her hands.

“Yes, I can,” Alya responded. “Because I’m going to make sure of it. You can count on me, Marinette. I’ve kept your secret for this long, haven’t I?”

Ladybug peeked through her fingers back at Alya. “If you figured it out, then other people can figure it out. What if they already have? What if everyone already knows and they’re just pretending not to know because they don’t want me to feel bad—”

“Ladybug!” Alya interrupted before Ladybug could go even further into her spiral of panic. “No one else is going to find out. The only reason I figured it out is because, in addition to being a journalistic prodigy, I also know Ladybug better than anyone else in Paris! Well, except Chat Noir, but there’s no way he’d put it together unless he somehow saw you every day as Marinette!”

As Alya had hoped, Ladybug let out a small giggle at Alya’s intentionally preposterous suggestion.

“And we won’t let Hawkmoth figure it out, okay?” Alya continued, moving her hand to rub Ladybug’s back. The feeling of the textured supersuit under her hand was oddly surreal, but in the end, this was still her best friend. “I’ve done my best to help you keep it a secret by covering for you when I can, but now that you know I know, I can do more.”

Alya was suddenly bulldozed by the full force of a teenage superheroine launching into her arms.

“You’re the best, Alya,” Ladybug mumbled into Alya’s shoulder and let out a small sniffle.

“And don’t you forget it,” Alya responded, squeezing her friend tight.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, after a frankly exhilarating swing across the rooftops of Paris, Alya paced around Marinette’s bedroom, waiting for Marinette to return with snacks.

Marinette still seemed pretty freaked out by the idea of anyone knowing her identity, and the bags under her eyes weren’t getting any smaller, but Alya had faith that Marinette would come around. And hopefully get some quality sleep now that she had her best friend in her corner.

While keeping Hawkmoth off Marinette’s trail was the number one priority, Alya’s mind couldn’t help but wander as she waited for Marinette to return. The whole “Hawkmoth found out who all the temporary heroes are” was clearly doing a number on Marinette’s mental health, but Alya knew it wasn’t Marinette’s only source of distress lately. 

Alya paused to run her finger over one of the dark patches on Marinette’s walls, where the paint hadn’t been washed out by sunlight. The day after the bees came, Marinette had calmly told Alya over lunch that she had decided it was time to move on from Adrien, and that she wanted Alya to support Adrien and Kagami’s burgeoning relationship.

_ Marinette must have taken his pictures down some time in the last few days, _ Alya thought with a pang of sympathy. Even though Alya had worried Marinette’s long-standing crush wouldn’t lead anywhere, she had hoped she was wrong. No one liked seeing their best friend try to hide their broken heart.

At the same time, another part of Alya, the part that squealed after finding a picture on her phone of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing after she and Nino were deakumatized — the part that once wrote a 2,000-word post on the Ladyblog analyzing the romantic undertones of Ladybug’s body language when she teased Chat Noir — that part was filled to the brim with anticipation.

Marinette was getting over Adrien, which meant that Operation Ladynoir, which had for months taken a backseat to Operation Secret Garden in order to respect Marinette’s wishes, was finally,  _ finally, _ going to get its chance in the sunlight.

After Alya and Marinette ensured Hawkmoth wouldn't figure out Ladybug’s identity, of course. And preferably after Alya had figured out Chat’s identity, too.

Alya had just started to speculate what Chat might be like without the cat ears when she heard Marinette’s latch fly open. Alya yanked her hand away from the wall and she turned to see Marinette carrying a plate of day-old pastries alongside a floating red sprite who was eyeing the chocolate chip cookies quite aggressively. 

Unfortunately, Alya hadn’t moved her hand quick enough.

“Alya,” Marinette said with a sigh as she walked over to the desk. “I told you, I’m getting over him. He’s in love with Kagami, and I don’t have time for boys right now anyway.”

Alya wasn’t sure about Adrien’s feelings for Kagami, but she strongly disagreed with the second part of Marinette’s statement. Sure, Marinette had a lot going on, but Alya wasn’t going to let her friend push away a potential chance at happiness just because Adrien was blind and Hawkmoth was a jerk.

Marinette set the plate of pastries down on the desk. Alya waited for Marinette’s Kwami (Alya would have to get the Kwami’s name from Marinette at some point) to claim one of the chocolate chip cookies and fly off with it before selecting a croissant for herself.

“Sit,” Alya commanded, pulling out Marinette’s office chair as she leaned against the desk. Alya pinched off a bit of croissant with her fingers and took a bite while she waited for Marinette to get comfortable.

Marinette settled into her chair, folding her legs together like a pretzel and resting her hands on her thighs. Alya swallowed her bite of croissant before speaking.

“Now, what’s this nonsense about not having time for boys?” 

“I’m sorry, Alya,” Marinette apologized, bowing her head. “I know how hard you and the girls worked trying to help me with Adrien, but I have to let go of him.”

Alya opened her mouth to interrupt, intending to clarify that she was totally fine with Marinette giving up on Adrien as long as she didn’t give up on romance altogether, but Marinette held up her hand, signaling that she wasn’t finished. Alya huffed but closed her mouth.

“My feelings for him were affecting my judgement, and I can’t afford to make any more mistakes, especially now that I’m the Guardian—”

“You’re the what now?” Alya couldn’t stop herself from interrupting this time. Alya had researched the Order of the Guardians for the Ladyblog, of course, especially after a mysterious temple had reappeared in Tibet a few months ago, but how could Marinette be a Guardian? Shouldn’t that take years of training? 

“Ohhhh, no,” Marinette moaned, flopping her legs down and slumping in her chair. “I shouldn’t have told you that. I can’t believe I’ve only been the Guardian for three days and I’ve already messed it up so badly. I’m such a screw-up. Master Fu put his faith in me and I’m going to let everyone down—”

“Hey!” Alya interrupted again. “Don’t talk about my friend that way. I don’t know who this Master Fu is or why he thought he should give that kind of responsibility to an untrained fifteen year old, but I’m not going to let you put yourself down because of it, you hear me?”

“But—”

“No,” Alya stopped her, placing a hand over Marinette’s mouth. “No bad mouthing my friend, who is an amazing person and a freaking superhero on top of that. Now, you’re going to explain what exactly this Guardian business entails, and then we are going to come up with a plan to fix your Ladybug problems.”

Marinette nodded, pulling herself back up in her chair.

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the ‘no time for boys’ thing, either,” Alya continued. “We can table it for now, but you should know that I’m not done with that conversation.”

* * *

“So, let me get this straight,” Alya said after finishing off the last bite of her croissant. Marinette was still sitting in the office chair, but she’d rolled closer to the chaise where Alya had taken up residence. “Your mentor peaced out and left you in charge of a whole box of magic jewelry without any guidance—”

“He lost his memory, Alya, it’s not like he chose to abandon me.”

Alya waved her off. Marinette could make excuses for the old man all she wanted; it didn’t change the situation he’d left her with.

“Anyways,” Alya said, steering the conversation back on track. “You’re in charge of the box now, and thanks to Chloé, the identities of all your backup heroes were exposed.”

“Yes,” Marinette nodded. “Which is why I can’t use you, or any of the others, again.”

“On the contrary,” Alya corrected. “That’s exactly why you should use me again.”

“Alya—”

“Nino and I aren’t the only people you know personally that you chose to help, right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “Oh. Oh, no. You don’t think…”

“That Hawkmoth could use the identities of your temporary heroes to narrow down your identity?” Alya said, finishing Marinette’s thoughts for her. 

Alya hadn’t thought it was possible for Marinette’s eyes to get any wider, but Marinette proved her wrong.

“That’s absolutely what I think. Which means we need to direct him away from you as a potential lead. Luckily, redirection is my specialty,” Alya finished with a wink and a finger-gun at Marinette’s panicked face.

Marinette’s eyes narrowed in on Alya’s finger and her expression turned thoughtful.

“You might be onto something there, Alya,” Marinette said slowly, straightening up in her chair with an air of determination. Alya could almost see the spotted mask flashing over her friend’s face as her posture transformed from insecure schoolgirl to everyday hero.

“Let’s make a plan,” Marinette declared, her bright blue eyes locking onto Alya’s. Alya couldn’t help but feel a little breathless at Marinette’s intensity. Was this how Chat Noir felt the day they fought Stoneheart? Little wonder he was so devoted to his Lady.

Alya shook off the starstruck feeling as best she could. It was time to get to work.

* * *

The first part of the plan they came up with was simple: Multimouse would join Ladybug and Chat Noir for patrol a few nights to firmly establish to everyone in Paris that Multimouse and Ladybug were two separate people. After that illusion was firmly planted in everyone’s minds, Multimouse would be very publicly revealed as Marinette, therefore cementing that Ladybug and Marinette were two different people.

Alya’s job, of course, was to work behind the scenes to maintain the illusion, which was why Rena Rouge was hiding in the shadows watching as Chat Noir arrived to greet Multimouse and the mirage of Ladybug for patrol.

Rena had Miragebug greet Chat Noir, carefully maintaining a distance between Miragebug and Chat Noir to evade the possibility of any physical contact that might dispel the illusion. She’d expected a challenge in that regard, given Chat’s penchant for greeting Ladybug with a kiss to the back of her hand.

But, to Rena’s surprise, it wasn’t  _ Ladybug _ who Chat approached. Rena’s jaw dropped as she watched Chat carefully lift up Multimouse’s hand and lean forward to place a gentle kiss on the back of her glove.

“What a  _ mice _ surprise it is to see you again, Ma—ma souris.” Chat dropped Multimouse’s hand and straightened up, bringing a nervous hand of his own to the back of his neck.

Rena was just preparing to have Miragebug reprimand him for almost slipping up and saying Marinette’s name when Multimouse let out a giggle.

“Your mouse?” Multimouse said with a smirk. “Getting a little bold, aren’t we,  _ mon minou? _ ”

Wait, hold on—was Multimouse  _ flirting _ ? And was that a blush Rena could see peeking out from underneath Chat’s mask?

Rena didn’t have a script for this. What would Miragebug say? Would she be jealous? Annoyed? All business?

“Ah, well, um,” Chat muttered awkwardly, his eyes flicking over to where Miragebug stood uselessly. 

Miragebug shrugged and gave him a shaky grin and two thumbs up.  _ Nailed it _ , thought Rena.

Chat cocked his head at Miragebug, clearly befuddled at the bizarre response, while Multimouse shot a glare at a spot in the dark about five feet away from where Rena was hidden.

Chat seemed to collect himself quickly, however, and turned back to Multimouse with a grin. 

“I guess this cat just can’t help but want to claim a mouse as cute as you,” he drawled, catching Multimouse’s attention as he leaned in towards her. Multimouse turned back to look at him, but not before Rena caught the faint pink dusting her cheeks.

“In that case, he’ll have to catch me first,” Multimouse responded, pushing Chat back with a single finger on his nose.

Chat was  _ definitely _ blushing now.

Maybe Operation Ladynoir (Marinoir? Multinoir?) was farther along than she’d anticipated, Rena mused, watching Multimouse bound away to the next roof as her laughter faded from earshot.

Chat Noir hesitated for only a second, glancing briefly at Miragebug, before giving chase, leaving Rena alone on the roof.

Rena didn’t mind at all.

Operation Ladynoir was a go.

* * *

The next day, Operation Ladynoir hit an unexpected snag.

Apparently she’d dismissed Adrinette too soon, Alya thought bitterly as Adrien blatantly flirted with Marinette right in front of Alya’s face. 

Adrien had come into class during their break, having missed the beginning of the day for an early morning photoshoot that ran long, and had immediately zeroed in on Marinette as if she was the only one in the room. She’d responded to his enthusiastic greeting with a small smile and offered to let him look over her notes. He’d eagerly thanked her, and Alya didn’t miss the way Adrien’s fingers lingered on Marinette’s as she handed him her notebook.

Alya couldn’t believe his audacity. It was like as soon as Marinette noticed another boy, Adrien suddenly realized he was interested.

Which was ridiculous, of course, since Adrien had no way of knowing that Marinette had spent most of the night before shamelessly bantering with Chat Noir.

_ What do you think you’re doing? _ She wanted to screech at him.  _ She was finally getting over you! _

Adrien seemed blissfully unaware of Alya’s reproachful glare, continuing to lavish compliments on Marinette as Alya seethed in her seat.

“Your handwriting is so cute, Marinette,” Adrien gushed, looking over Marinette’s notes. “Almost as cute as you.” Alya rolled her eyes at his attempts at flirting; Adrien’s fumbling compliments couldn’t compete with Chat Noir’s wit.

Unfortunately, Marinette didn’t seem to care whether Adrien’s compliments were lame or not.

“Y-your wrandhiting—righthanding—handwriting! Your handwriting is nice t-too, Adrien,” Marinette sputtered, her face glowing a brilliant crimson.

Adrien smiled beatifically at her, as if she’d said something brilliantly clever instead of just mangling a return of his own lame compliment. He looked completely smitten.

Adrien looked ready to respond to Marinette’s clumsy words with another uninspired compliment when their conversation was interrupted by the one person even less thrilled than Alya about Adrien’s sudden interest in Marinette.

“Ohhh, I wish I had nice handwriting,” Lila cooed, taking a seat on Adrien’s bench and scooting close to him under the guise of looking at Marinette’s notes. The dopey smile was immediately wiped off Adrien’s face. His entire body recoiled as he turned away from Lila to face the front of the classroom. “Unfortunately, with my bad wrist, my hand just gets so tired.”

“That sucks, dude,” Nino said, contributing to the conversation for the first time. “Maybe Ms. Bustier would let you type? That’s what Kim did when he jammed his finger trying to play American football last spring.”

“What a great idea, Nino,” Marinette said through gritted teeth. “In fact, you should go discuss that with her right now.”

“Oh, I couldn’t! I don’t want to bother her during break!” Lila clutched her hands to her chest as she swiveled to face Marinette, her hair catching on Adrien’s face as she spun.

Alya stifled a laugh as she watched Adrien peel long strands of brown hair from his face. From her seat, Alya could just barely make out his absolutely disgusted expression. Poor Adrien. As much as his sudden romantic interest in Marinette annoyed Alya, he didn’t deserve this.

“Nah, dude, Ms. Bustier won’t mind,” Nino responded to Lila, giving Adrien a sympathetic pat on the back. “She’s cool like that.”

“But—” Lila started to protest before being interrupted.

“C’mon, let’s go talk to her together,” Nino said, standing up. 

Lila’s face flashed with annoyance before smoothing over into a honeyed smile. 

“Thanks, Nino, you’re so that’s so kind of you to offer!” Lila said, her voice sticky sweet. “But you don’t need to come with me. I don’t want you to miss out on chatting with your friends!”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Nino shrugged and sat back down. “We’ll see you when you get back.”

Lila bristled as the clear dismissal, but stood up to leave anyway. Adrien shot Nino a grateful smile before turning back to speak to Marinette.

“Is it okay if I return your notes at lunch, Marinette?”

“Ah, s-sure, that’s po nobrlem — no problem!”

“Maybe I can walk you to your place before the Gorilla picks me up!”

Alya slammed her head down on the desk. She should’ve gone with Lila.

* * *

It was only later, when Nino stopped Lila from joining Adrien and Marinette on their walk to the bakery, that it occurred to Alya that her boyfriend might be working against her.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t exactly confront him about it, since, thanks to his interference, she was stuck yet again listening to Lila’s nonsense as she picked at her lunch. 

Alya felt a warm pressure on her knee, and looked down to see Nino’s hand laying there with his palm facing up. She reached down and interlocked her fingers with his, grateful for her boyfriend’s silent support. Even without knowing why, he could clearly sense Alya’s discomfort. She loved that he was always willing to support her without needing to know all the details (even though the reverse would drive her absolutely crazy).

Not for the first time, Alya felt a rush of gratitude towards her best friend for locking them in a cage together when Alya’s dad was akumatized. Marinette had helped Alya find the boy of her dreams, and Alya was determined to return the favor.

Even if the aforementioned boy of her dreams continued to support Team Adrinette. Alya couldn’t fault him for supporting his best friend, especially since he didn’t have the full story.

Besides, Alya didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving Adrien to Lila’s machinations either. He was still her friend, after all, even if he had decided to toss his hat in the ring to compete for Marinette’s affections at the worst possible time.

Alya’s attention was suddenly drawn back into the moment by a loud squeal.

“Ohhh, that’s so romantic!” Rose exclaimed, staring at Lila with starry eyes. Were they talking about Prince Ali again?

“Shhh,” Lila admonished. “I know, it’s very exciting, but Ladybug would be very upset with me if word got out about her relationship with a civilian.”

_ Maybe you shouldn’t be blabbing about it, then, _ Alya thought, but she didn’t say anything. After all, whatever Lila had told Rose almost certainly wasn’t true, and would only help protect Marinette’s identity.

Which reminded Alya that it was probably about time to enact the second part of their plan: lying to the liar. When Marinette had mentioned her suspicions that Lila wasn’t only lying but might also be actively collaborating with Hawkmoth, Alya had reasoned that this was a potential opportunity.

Marinette wasn’t a huge fan of this part of the plan — she hadn’t been thrilled when Alya revealed she’d been faking her friendship with Lila to help cover for Marinette, and she wasn’t keen to see Alya take that even further.

Eventually, though, Marinette had begrudgingly agreed to let Alya take the reins on this.

After all, a fox was best handled by another fox.

“I can’t believe she’d even date a civilian,” Alya slipped into the conversation. “Ladybug is usually so careful. I mean, she wouldn’t even pick people she knew as temporary heroes to help her and Chat!”

It was with great effort that Alya maintained a straight face as Lila’s face went pale.

“That makes sense,” Mylene chimed in. “Otherwise I’m sure you would’ve been her first choice, Lila!”

The others nodded encouragingly, clearly misinterpreting the reason for Lila’s upset. 

“Naturally,” said Alya, playing along with her friends.

“R-right!” Lila said, and quickly masked her discomfort with a bright smile. “Ladybug would never take that risk! She asks for my opinion, of course, but she’d never pick someone she knows.”

“I should’ve realized she talked to you too, Alya,” Lila continued. “She’s told me you’re her favorite reporter, you know.”

Alya suppressed an eye-roll at Lila’s attempts to butter her up.

“Actually, I was surprised when she told me,” Alya lied. “I don’t think she would’ve if she hadn’t been looking for suggestions.”

“Oh!” Lila exclaimed, clearly as surprised by the information as Alya had intended. “That’s so great that she asked you,” Lila tried to recover. “I suggested it, you know.”

Alya hummed in acknowledgement, unbothered that Lila wanted to take credit for recommending her to Ladybug. 

Lila had taken the bait, after all, and with any luck, she’d bring it back to Hawkmoth. Between that and Multimouse’s impending public identity reveal, Marinette’s identity was as secure as it had ever been.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Chat Noir’s.


	3. Her Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya vs. the Love Square.

With the exception of Adrien’s continued insistence on flirting with Marinette, Alya was very satisfied with the way the next four days went. Sure, Chat Noir had given Miragebug a few more baffled looks during their patrols, but was usually too distracted by Multimouse to ask questions.

And today’s akuma battle had presented the perfect opportunity for a public Multimouse reveal - which had gone exactly according to plan. 

Well, almost exactly. 

Alya probably should’ve anticipated Chat Noir would be upset about losing his patrol buddy (Flirting partner? Love interest?). But honestly, Chat Noir hadn’t been playing along with Alya’s mental script since the moment he’d kissed Multimouse’s hand.

For her part, Alya had been so thrilled that he was showing interest and that Marinette was reciprocating that Alya hadn’t considered that Chat’s interest in Multimouse would negatively impact his relationship with Ladybug. Not until Chat had stormed up to Ladybug at the end of the battle, demanding an explanation as to why Ladybug hadn’t protected Marinette better.

Which was why Alya was sitting alone in her room drafting up a post about Multimouse for the Ladyblog while Ladybug was stuck explaining herself to Chat.

Alya hoped their confrontation was going well. And by well, she meant a slow buildup of sexual tension throughout their argument that culminated in a heated makeout session.

Unfortunately, Alya knew the likelihood of that was pretty low.

Marinette was clearly developing feelings for Chat Noir, but Alya still had a lot of work left to do.

But first, she should probably finish her blog post.

* * *

At first, Alya had been pretty pleased with the response to the Multimouse blog post. Everyone in class had read it, and the petty part of Alya enjoyed watching Lila and Chloé twitch with jealousy as the rest of the class fawned over Marinette. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the class included Adrien.

“...and the hair buns! You should wear your hair like that more often, Marinette! I mean, your hair always looks great, of course, and it’s so pretty when it’s down too, but wow, the buns…”

He’d been going on like this for a while — to the point that even Nino, who usually listened attentively to anything Adrien had to say, had put on his headphones to tune out the conversation.

Alya had been planning to steal Marinette away at some point to discuss yesterday’s conversation between Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Adrien hadn’t left Marinette’s side all day. Alya suspected that even if she had managed to get Marinette alone, Marinette wouldn’t be much of a conversationalist after listening to Adrien gush about how cute she was for an estimated total time of 1.5 hours.

Alya would just have to pry that information out of her friend later. For now, she’d settle for reminding Marinette that Adrien wasn’t the only guy that was interested.

“Marinette did look cute, did she?” Alya said, interrupting whatever praise Adrien was currently lavishing on Marinette. “Chat Noir certainly seemed to think so.”

Marinette made a face that probably would’ve been accompanied by a blush if she hadn’t already reached peak blood flow to her cheeks. Which wasn’t unexpected. What was unexpected was Adrien’s response.

“What was it like working with Chat Noir, Marinette?” Adrien asked, a suddenly eager glint in his eyes. “He’s pretty cute too, don’t you think?”

_ Wait, what? _

“Yeah…” Marinette let out a dreamy sigh, before suddenly remembering just who she was talking to. “I mean, no! I mean—Chat’s not cute! He’s just a stupid cat! I’m not attracted to him and I definitely don’t have any sort of feelings for him at all! And I’ve never thought about kissing him!”

Wow, Marinette was really laying the denial on thick. Who did she think she was fooling? Certainly not Adrien, who looked pretty devastated after hearing Marinette’s speech. Clearly he was upset about her obvious feelings for someone else.

“Oh,” was all Adrien said, shrinking into his chair. Alya actually felt pretty guilty at the look on his face — like she’d kicked a puppy or something.

Still, Alya wasn’t about to back down now that she was finally making progress. Sure, if Marinette decided that she didn’t want to give up on Adrien after all, now that she knew he was interested, Alya would be happy for her best friend.

But as long as Marinette was committed to moving on from Adrien, Alya was going to do her best to steer Marinette towards Chat Noir.

She’d make it up to Adrien later.

* * *

Alya tried again to catch Marinette after the bell rang to interrogate her about what happened yesterday with Chat Noir, but was interrupted by Nino tugging her into a corner.

“Babe, what did you and Marinette say to my bro earlier?” Nino asked, his brows furrowed. “He was in such a good mood when he came in this morning and then did a total 180. I tried asking him but he just keeps saying super sad stuff like ‘I should never have gotten my hopes up’ and ‘Do you think I deserve love, Nino?’”

Alya cringed. She knew Adrien was upset, but she hadn’t thought he’d take it  _ this _ badly. Maybe he liked Marinette more than she thought.

“We were just talking about superheroes, Nino,” Alya said, knowing that this was not a remotely sufficient explanation for Adrien’s despair.

“Oh no,” said Nino, looking more worried by the minute. “He brought up his thing for Ladybug, didn’t he? Oh man, I should’ve warned you, he’s really sensitive about that.”

His  _ what _ for  _ who _ now?

“Are you telling me that Adrien has a crush on Ladybug, Nino?” Alya rubbed at her temples.

“Oh yeah, he’s super into her — wait, if he didn’t tell you about that, then what is he upset about?” Nino cocked his head.

“I  _ thought _ he was upset about Marinette’s crush on Chat Noir,” Alya clarified.

“Marinette has a crush on Chat Noir?” Nino blinked owlishly at her. “I thought you said she was into Adrien.”

“She  _ was _ , but Adrien only had eyes for Kagami. And Ladybug, apparently.” Alya still wasn’t sure what to think of that information. “But now that she’s moving on, he’s suddenly interested.”

“That doesn’t really sound like Adrien,” Nino said with a small frown.

Alya had to admit that Nino was right. She wouldn’t have ever pegged Adrien as the type to only want what he can’t have, but what other explanation was there? Why else would he suddenly be interested in Marinette  _ right after _ she spent the night flirting with Chat Noir?

Alya’s mind suddenly flashed unbidden to the photo edit she’d made over a year ago of Adrien with cat ears and a mask.

_ No. _ No way. Alya refused to accept that thought. She’d made that photo edit as a  _ joke _ .

He couldn’t possibly  _ actually be Chat Noir _ . The sheer level of irony was completely unbearable. The concept that the two of them had been dancing around each other this entire scream made Alya want to scream.

And yet…

Adrien apparently had a thing for Ladybug. And had suddenly shown interest in Marinette at the exact time as Chat Noir. And he missed class all the time. Alya had always accepted that his dad was pulling him out, but how many times had Adrien been gone at the exact same time that Marinette was?

Too many.

“Uhhh… babe? Everything okay?” Nino’s worried tones cut through her thoughts.

Alya smiled at her boyfriend. 

“Everything will be fine, Nino,” she assured him. “I just realized it’s time that Adrien and I had a little  _ chat. _ ”

* * *

Of course, as soon as Alya decided that talking to Marinette could wait until after she’d had a chance to investigate the Adrien theory further, Marinette was suddenly very eager to talk to Alya.

“Alya!” Marinette yelled, appearing suddenly as Alya exited the classroom and causing Alya’s heart rate to spike. 

A major downside of admitting that she knew about Marinette’s identity was that Marinette no longer made any effort to pretend she didn’t have superpowers around Alya, resulting in Marinette popping up out of nowhere several times a day, often in places that normal humans would not be able to reach. 

“Alya,” Marinette continued, undaunted by Alya’s cardiac distress. “I think Adrien is mad at me.”

Alya sighed.

“I’m sure he’s not mad at you, Marinette,” she reassured her friend half-heartedly. Alya’s head hurt.

“But!” Marinette yelped, far too loudly for Alya’s comfort. “He was talking to me, and things were going so well, and then suddenly! Bam! He won’t even look at me! What if he hates me now Alya?”

“Adrien doesn’t hate you, Marinette,” Alya said, drawing on her last reserves of patience. “Besides, aren’t you supposed to be getting over him?”

“Well…” Marinette bit her lip.

“What about Chat Noir?”

“I’m not in love with Chat Noir!” Marinette shouted. Several people passing in the hallway stopped to stare.

“Why not?” Alya demanded. She was pretty sure that Marinette  _ was _ in love with Chat Noir, or at least well on her way to it, but she was eager to hear Marinette’s reasoning nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Marinette did not oblige.

“Because I—he—it’s not—I can’t talk about this here!” Marinette hissed, grabbing Alya’s arm and dragging her down the hallway.

“Whoa, girl, slow down,” Alya said, trying to pull her arm back without much success. Marinette was freakishly strong.

Although Marinette did not relax her grip, she did slow down just enough for Alya to keep pace the rest of the way to their final destination, which turned out to be a storage closet. Marinette dragged Alya inside the small space. Alya hadn’t even realized that the storage closet existed, but she supposed that after being Ladybug for months, Marinette had probably discovered every secret hiding place in the school.

(Which did shoot some holes in the Adrien is Chat Noir theory — surely if Chat Noir went to their school, he and Ladybug would’ve picked the same hiding place at some point. How could they be as close to each other as Adrien and Marinette? Alya was no Max, but she was pretty sure the statistics of that were implausible.)

Alya’s mental sidebar was interrupted by the sound of Marinette slamming the door shut. For a second, Alya thought Marinette was going to lock it, before she noticed the door locked from the outside. 

_ Makes sense, I guess, _ Alya thought as she surveyed the contents of the room,  _ wouldn’t want anyone to steal… cleaning supplies. _

Drawing her gaze away from the shelves packed with paper products and bottles of brightly-colored solution, Alya focused on her friend, whose face looked as if she was the one who had been dragged unwillingly into a closet and not the other way around.

“So, why aren’t you in love with Chat Noir?” Alya questioned, propping her hand on her hip.

Marinette’s eyes were very round and her mouth was very small.

“I… I don’t know anymore,” Marinette whispered, and looked down at her feet.

Sensing an opening, Alya pressed on. “Have you considered that maybe you  _ are _ in love with him?”

“I’ve been trying not to!” Marinette’s voice came out somewhere between a shout and a whisper as she stamped her foot impotently on the linoleum. “I told you, I don’t have time for boys!”

Well, at least it’s not just Adrien anymore. Still, Marinette’s insistence that she didn’t have time for romance was infuriating. Marinette deserved to be happy. More than that, she deserved to be a teenage girl.  _ I did warn her we’d come back to this conversation, didn’t I? _

“And I told you, I don’t accept that. Being Ladybug shouldn’t mean you have to give up on love.”

Marinette bit her lip, still looking at the floor, and shrugged. Alya could tell Marinette didn’t believe her.

After admitting to Marinette she knew her identity, Alya had asked a lot of questions about being Ladybug. But she hadn’t asked how Marinette felt about being Ladybug (Alya silently added this conversation to her mental to-do list). She didn’t know if Marinette loved it, or hated it, or felt something in between.

But Alya did know that Marinette was a romantic. She knew Marinette daydreamed about marrying the boy she loved and having three kids and a hamster. She knew that Marinette believed in the magic of Andre’s ice cream. She knew that Marinette would do anything to help her friends be with the one they loved; she’d done it for Ivan and Mylene, for Marc and Nathaniel, and even for Adrien and Kagami.

She’d done it for Alya and Nino.

And somehow, this girl that believed in true love, that dreamed and hoped and wished for it, that wouldn’t let anything get in the way of her friends finding it, had somehow convinced herself that romance didn’t fit in her life. That she’d have to give it up.

For Alya, that was unacceptable. Sure, not everyone wanted romance, especially in high school, but Marinette did. And Marinette deserved to pursue her own happiness.

So Alya told her that.

“I know you’re stressed, Marinette. I get it,” Alya started, wanting to assure Marinette that she wasn’t dismissing her worries. “And maybe it feels like love would just be another added stress, or an unnecessary risk, or just a waste of time.”

Marinette nodded into her chest, but didn’t say anything.

“But  _ that’s not true _ . Your happiness isn’t a waste of time, Marinette. And it’s worth the risk,” Alya assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

Marinette looked up sharply and opened her mouth to protest, but Alya cut her off before she could start.

“And I know your feelings for Adrien have caused you stress in the past,” Alya admitted. “But love’s not always like that, you know? Sure, the giddy, fluttery feeling of having a crush and wondering if they feel the same is fun, but it’s scary. But being with Nino? Knowing he feels the same way as I do?”

Alya paused her speech to make sure Marinette was still following (and also to give proper dramatic emphasis on her concluding words). Marinette nodded, indicating that she was waiting for Alya to finish.

“Being with him isn’t scary at all. It’s right, and it’s comfortable, and it’s like having another best friend, except with more kissing,” Alya said. “And you deserve that. Whether it’s with Adrien, or with Chat, or with some other guy. You  _ deserve  _ it, and I’m not okay with you sacrificing something that’s important to you out of some inflated sense of responsibility.”

Alya took in a deep breath, and then added, as an afterthought, “I really do think it should be with Chat Noir though, for what it’s worth.”

“I…” Marinette started to speak, but then trailed off. Alya assumed Marinette needed a moment to gather her thoughts, so she kept quiet. She’d probably said enough, anyway.

“Okay,” was all Marinette said when she did finally speak again.

“Okay?” Alya wasn’t sure what that meant. “So you agree?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette said with a sigh. “I just want to be a good Guardian. I don’t want to mess up again. Do you really think I can manage that while worrying about boys?”

“Absolutely,” Alya assured her. “And more importantly, you’re not going to be worrying about them. Not with my help. Wingwoman Alya is going to hook you up with the man of your dreams. But first, you gotta admit: you’re in love with Chat Noir.”

Marinette hesitated, her eyes shifting towards the shelves. 

“I don’t know if I’m ready to admit that, Alya,” Marinette said, without making eye contact. 

Alya had several follow-up questions to that. And still hadn’t asked Marinette about the argument with Chat Noir. Or Marinette’s feelings about being Ladybug.

But all of that would have to wait, because the bell was ringing, and it was time to return to class. 

…And Alya should probably talk with Adrien first, anyway.

* * *

Adrien was avoiding her.

Well, probably not Alya specifically, but he was almost certainly avoiding Marinette, who had unintentionally crushed his heart earlier that day. 

He might not be Chat Noir, but Alya could recognize a longing sigh when she heard one — she heard them from Marinette often enough. 

Adrien had let out no less than seven longing sighs over the course of the class period, most of which were paired with a lovelorn glance in Marinette’s direction when Marinette wasn’t looking. He only spoke once, when called on by the teacher, and started packing up his things before the teacher dismissed them.

When the teacher did clear them to go, Adrien was out the door faster than Alya could shove her pens in her bag.

Naturally, Alya chose to forgo packing up her bag in favor of running after Adrien, shoving a handful of pens into Nino’s hand and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she dashed after her suspect.

Alya trusted Nino to figure out what to do with her belongings.

She managed to catch a glimpse of blonde hair as Adrien turned a corner, and rushed after him, intent on catching Adrien before he left the building.

To her surprise, however, Adrien apparently did not have any intention of leaving the building. Instead, he’d ducked into an empty classroom.

Alya watched through the window as Adrien slammed his bag down on a bench and flopped down next to the bag, his long limbs splayed out across the wooden surface. He ran his fingers through his hair, making it puff up a bit on top, and… started talking to his shirt pocket?

And then, right as Alya was about to move towards the classroom door to confront Adrien, his shirt pocket  _ moved _ .

And out popped a floating black blob with  _ cat ears _ .

Alya wasn’t particularly proud of the sound she made in response to the Kwami’s appearance, but in her defense,  _ Adrien was clearly Chat Noir _ and  _ holy crap those two idiots really have been chasing each other in circles the entire time! _

She was so busy mentally (and also physically) screaming that Alya didn’t notice Adrien moving until she heard him speak, and realized he was right in front of her.

“Alya, what’s going on?” Adrien’s eyes were crinkled with concern. “What are you doing here? Did you… how long have you been there?”

“Long enough!” Alya shouted. “How long have you been in love with Marinette?”

Adrien’s eyes widened and he lifted his hands up in front of his chest. “I’m not — I mean, I don’t — Marinette is…”

He trailed off, dropping his hands down in front of him. “I realized yesterday,” he admitted with a defeated tone.  _ Probably when Multimouse was revealed _ , Alya thought,  _ or during his argument with Ladybug. _

“I’m not sure when it started,” Adrien continued, his shoulders drooping farther with every word. “But she made it pretty clear she doesn’t feel the same.”

Alya liked to think she was a pretty patient person, all things considered. She’d been patient with Marinette through every spiel about how wonderful Adrien was, every botched confession, every comfort session after Adrien told Marinette she was a good friend or showed up somewhere arm in arm with Kagami.

The knowledge that Adrien had been just as desperately in love with Marinette the entire time? That the only thing that kept them apart was their secret identities? Secret identities that Alya had been quietly helping to protect behind the scenes, unaware that she was foiling her own matchmaking plans by doing it?

Alya had been patient long enough.

She grabbed Adrien by the shirt, ignoring his yelp of protest as she dragged him back through the hallway towards their classroom. 

When she spotted Marinette talking with Nathaniel, Alya grabbed her as well, shouting “Excuse us!” to Nathaniel as an afterthought as she dragged  _ Ladybug and Chat Noir _ across the hallway, down into the next, and into the closet that she and Marinette had left open earlier in their rush back to class.

“Both of you!” Alya shouted. “Are completely ridiculous!”

Adrien looked terrified, his face as white as a sheet, while Marinette just stood there blinking dazedly at Alya.

“Alya, what—” Marinette started to ask, but Alya was done talking.

“Consider this payback for the time you locked Nino and I in a panther cage together!” Alya yelled, backing out of the closet into the hallway.

“Wait, but the person who locked you in was—” Adrien’s thought was cut off as Alya slammed the closet door shut and locked it.

She’d come back to check on them in a few hours. Hopefully they’d figure out just how much they had in common by then.

Marinette had helped Alya find the boy of her dreams that day at the zoo, and Alya was determined to return the favor.

Alya felt the corners of her lips turn up into a smirk as she headed back towards the classroom, mentally congratulating herself on a job well done. Although if she was honest it wasn’t particularly well… but it was done.

She’d been hoping to find Nino, and maybe a second storage closet to celebrate in, when her nostrils were invaded with an overly floral perfume and long, manicured fingers wrapped around her arm.

Lila.

Alya forced a smile.

“Alya, when do you want to schedule my next interview for the Ladyblog?” Lila cooed. “I’m sure your readers are  _ dying _ to hear more about how Ladybug chooses new heroes after the article on Multimouse. Obviously, I can’t give away  _ too _ much, Ladybug is very concerned about secrecy, but she said I could give you a short interview after I reminded her what a  _ great _ reporter you are.”

Alya grit her teeth.  _ This is for Marinette,  _ she reminded herself.  _ She needs you to keep playing nice, just a little bit longer. _

As Lila rambled on, Alya allowed herself to daydream about a future in which Rena Rouge had been pivotal in helping Ladybug and Chat Noir defeat Hawkmoth. A future in which Alya could freely tell Lila exactly what she thought.

Alya couldn’t wait for that future. But for now, she’d keep smiling, content in the knowledge that she had a wonderful boyfriend and that hopefully, by the end of the day, Alya’s best friend would, too.

Because Ladybug and Chat Noir belonged together.

And  _ Alya  _ was Ladybug’s best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it for this fic, but if you’re anxious to see what happens between Adrien and Marinette in the closet, Kasienda wrote a lovely sequel, “[Locked in a Closet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20646461/chapters/63762139)” that she included in her A Miraculous Reveal series! I highly recommend it (and the rest of the series too, and pretty much all her works!)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to my beta [sagansjagger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/works)!
> 
> This fic was written for the August 2020 fanfiction exchange on the Miraculous Fanworks discord server. Join today if you're interested in an active fan community with monthly events!


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